Call Me Wild
by beautiful-surreal
Summary: "The name's Jim Cook by the way." I looked over at him to see a contagious grin on his face, and I lifted the corners of my mouth.  "Nice to know ya. You can call me Wild." Renamed from 'Ha! Yeah Right' EDITED!
1. Helen Jean Harper

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything I didn't create. I own everything I did.

**A/N:** Did some editing. Wonder if you can see the difference?

* * *

Not all stories have happy endings. The hero and the heroine die in each other's arms, having taken their last breaths in each other's loving embrace, happy that they at least got to see each other again before they died. Well, that's sort of a happy ending in a very sadistic way. Like my life would ever be so elegant or melo-dramatic. My life is just dramatic and weird. Not to mention full of contradictions. Take me for example.

I'm a girl who looks like a boy, complete with the short haircut, muscles and camouflage clothing. I'm pretty clumsy, falling over stuff all the time, but always managing to save myself and what ever I had tripped over with my martial arts training and flexibility. I have never been interested in romance or anything remotely like that sappy, gooey stuff other girls my age fawn over, but strangely enough, all the boys in my high school fall all over themselves whenever I walk into the room. I've always just found that plain strange. Here I am, a girl that looks like a guy, not doing anything to hide it, and all the guys in the school love me. Gay much?

Oh, and another thing. I never knew my parents. They've both been dead since before I can remember. I don't know if I have any extended family, and if I do, they've never bothered to contact me, not that it bothers me much. I get by just fine living in the woods and fishing for dinner. Kinda fun actually. The government funds my schooling and other stuff like that. I'm pretty used to a lot of stuff. Like bears after my food and such. Maybe that was why my first reaction to waking up in that anime I saw some girls watching at school the other day was to laugh at what they'd think and if I'd turn up in one of the episodes they watched. It was also kind of interesting to look at my reflection in the lake. I'd been all anime-ized. I couldn't help but grin at myself. This was just too cool.

Now what did those girls call this anime? Oh yeah. Yugioh GX, and I'm now one of the characters in it. How ridiculous. Maybe Helen Jean Harper could spice up the plotline a bit. Heh yeah, the masculine woman has a feminine name. That's a laugh. My story doesn't have a happy or sad ending. Hell, it hasn't even started yet. Welcome to my crazy life. I recommend wearing a life vest and/or a seatbelt. God knows you'll need it.


	2. Jim Cook

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything I didn't create. I own everything I did create. ^_^

**A/N:** Did some editing. Wonder if you see a difference.

* * *

Heh. This was cool. I leaned back and let myself float in the lake. A new world. I don't know how the shit I got here, but I was here, and I was going to make the best of it. The water was somewhat murky, but cool and substantial on this warm day. It was a good way to get my head wrapped around my current situation, and I flipped over and ducked underwater quickly, my shirt and shoes resting on the bank. I just didn't notice the crocodile slipping in for a dip from the opposite bank.

I wondered what this world was like. I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't too different from my old one. I could see some similarities already in the short time I've been here. The trees were the same, my tent and supplies seemed to have come with me, the lake was a different shape and had a different kind of water in it, not to mention it was in a slightly different location than the old one had been. But the sky was blue, the air was clear and fresh, and there were crocodiles here too. I blinked in surprise and shot for the surface, popping out up to my waist before settling back in up to my neck, frowning. I had met some crocs back in my old world up close before, and they were all stupid and aggressive and massively strong. You most certainly didn't want to get your leg caught in one of their jaws, and the ones I had come across had loved a chase.

I slowly leaned backwards to float on the water, my eyes vacantly searching the skies as I gave all my attention to the movement of the water underneath me as I lazily waved my arms through the water, gently pushing myself to the bank. An artificial current passed under me and pushed my body slightly out of the water as I caught my breath and felt the water as the current began to circle me. I froze. I knew that this couldn't turn out well as I felt the water around the croc shift as it rose through the water, and I turned my head to look to the side in apprehension. Then blinked.

The croc was watching me. That was a first. I was used to them attacking as soon as they saw me. Still, I didn't move apart from the movement of my chest as I breathed in and out, calmly regulating it. _Let her make the first move._ It was a simple instinct, and I watched the croc's eyes as I floated there. _Let her know you're not a threat._ The croc sank back underwater, and I looked back up at the sky, feeling the water again, a midge less tense. I felt her rise on my other side, and slowly turned my head that way, looking at my hand as she broke the surface, not looking at her for a few moments before reconnecting our gazes.

She blinked. I relaxed a little. She moved forward. I let her nudge my hand. She looked at me. I smiled a little, still a little scared. She dipped her snout underwater and gently bumped it into my palm. I gaped a little in surprise and disbelief. She smiled at me. I blinked.

"Hi." I breathed in awe. This girl was so… tame. And smart. I started to relax some more. "You're really pretty."

"I'm glad you think so."

_**HOLY SHIT!**_ I went rigid, wide-eyed, startled out of my mind, and nearly convulsed into a jack-knife, disappearing underneath the surface of the water with hardly a ripple before flipping over and streaking out for the opposite bank before coming to my senses and breaking the surface to look back. There was a rugged looking man swimming there with a bandage over his right eye. By rugged I meant that he looked like he spent just as much time outside that I did. He looked rather surprised as well as I turned to face him, and he smiled awkwardly, running a hand through his dark hair.

"Sorry about that mate! Thought you knew I was there." _So he's an Australian. He sounds nice. Looks like I can trust him._ I blinked and swam back, taking my time to get there, treading water by his friend's side. He looked me in the eye, and I could see a lot of wisdom and a good heart there. I looked back at his friend, calmly holding out a hand to her now that her friend was here.

"I was a bit busy focusing on her. She seems really nice, but I've met a few crocs that didn't like me." I lifted my left forearm out of the water to show him a faint scar of a bite mark there. "I eventually learned how to knock 'em out after that one." A soft whistle drew my attention back to him. He was looking at my scar like he knew what it was like to get something like that. Appreciatively too. I lifted the corner of my mouth he couldn't see in a lopsided smile.

"Blimey mate." He said with a half-laugh. "What did you do to get on it's bad side?" I leaned back and floated, looking at the clouds.

"Swim." I stated simply. "I probably swam into it's territory or something by accident.

"Mmm. I've seen that happen before. The name's Jim Cook by the way." I looked over at him to see a contagious grin on his face, and I lifted the corners of my mouth.

"Nice to know ya. My name's Helen Jean Harper, but you can call me Wild."


	3. Jesse & Jaden

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything I didn't create. I do own everything I did.

**A/N:** Edited.

* * *

Jim blinked in surprise, treading water.

"Wild?" I smiled, hearing his unspoken question, and blinked slowly at the clouds. I sighed contentedly.

"Yup. I've been as much a part of the wild as the trees or the crocs all my life."

"What about your parents?" I could hear the concern in his voice but didn't look at him.

"Don't have any. I've managed just fine on my own."

"In the woods?" I heard his tone and looked at him searchingly, looking into his worried eye.

"Is that a problem?" His eyes seemed to widen partially with disbelief as he opened his mouth as if searching for words. I sat up and started treading water to face him properly. He sighed and closed his eye, touching his forehead lightly with his thumb and forefinger. He looked at me piercingly and dropped his hand.

"So you've been living in the woods all your life? How old are you exactly?" I ignored his first question and answered the second.

"19." His eye almost seemed to pop out of his head. I smiled slightly lopsidedly at that. He seemed to be lost for words, but I knew what he'd be thinking. "I haven't been alone _all_ that time if that's what you were wondering. I left the orphanage when I was 14 to live in the woods. I much prefer it actually. No one stealing my stuff anymore. Well apart from the bears." I shook my head in amusement and noticed Jim had snapped his mouth shut with a click and was now staring at me. I blinked. "What?"

"We don't have bears here." I raised my eyebrows quizzically, feigning curiosity while trying to figure how I was going to get out of this one.

"Really?" he nodded. "They did where I come from." I could see him about to ask me something, and I knew what was coming. "Anyways, my tent is just back there." I said, pointing over my shoulder. "Want to see?"

Jim looked at me searchingly before nodding and swimming back to his bank and collecting his clothes. The lake wasn't really all that big, so I swam back to my bank and donned my clothes as he made his way around the edge of the lake. I gave him a half-smile when he was standing next to my side, a sort of saddle strapped to his back, his croc by his side. I really had to stop calling her that. I stooped and gently ran my hand over her snout. She wuffled and I smiled, looking up at Jim to see a soft shine in his eye.

"Does she have a name?"

"Shirley." I nodded at him and looked at the girl again, stroking her snout.

"Shirley. That's a nice name. Suits you." I swear I could hear Jim smile.

"_I don't think we should be here."_ I snapped my head up to stare piercingly through the forest. That whisper had come from the direction of my tent. I slowly pivoted on the balls of my feet, my hands holding me steady on the ground as I concentrated solely on listening.

"_C'mon Jesse! It's a tent out in the middle of the woods! It's got food in it too!"_ I bared my teeth slightly in disgust. I hated nothing more than a thief. They really pissed me off, taking what wasn't theirs. Besides, all the stuff I had in my tent was stuff I needed. I heard the tent flap rustle and a hand connect with my table as one of the boys picked something up. _"Fish sausages!"_ I glared at the ground, flames burning in my eyes. He was going to eat it. That was fucking _it!_

I sprung from the ground like a cheetah leaping out of her den and dashed, getting to my tent in less than three seconds, since it wasn't that far away. I slammed into a blunette's back, and I used my momentum to jump and leapfrog over his shoulders before catching the brunette red-handed, slapping the opened fish sausage out of his hand with the back of my left, tripping him and slipping around him to catch him before he hit the ground, hoisting him up and locking his arms behind his back before reaching up and lacing my fingers behind his neck. There was a heartbeat of silence before I leaned forward and hissed menacingly into his ear.

"_**Do. **__Not. __**Steal."**_ I practically growled, and the boy squeaked. I blinked in surprise. He _squeaked_? How old was he?

"I'm sorry I took your food! Please don't hurt me!" I snorted with a dark sort of humor since I was still somewhat angry with him. He sounded like a virgin.

"How old are you?" I asked, my voice gruff and much less intimidating with thinly-veiled surprise.

"17!" He squeaked again. I rolled my eyes, solely tempted to shake him like a puppy. I sighed in exasperation, loosening my hold on him a little.

"Then you should know not to take a stranger's food by now, dimwit."

"Ok!" I narrowed my eyes at the back of his head.

"Stop squeaking."

"Ok!" I rolled my eyes with a slightly irritated growl, released him and pushed him toward his friend before stooping to retrieve my fallen food. I looked it over carefully and brushed off some dirt before wrapping it back up and putting it back with the rest of my carefully-rationed food. At least he hadn't bitten into it yet, and I turned to lean against my table as I looked at the brunette with a stern glare.

"This is my tent, my food, my spot of land. If you know what's good for you, don't come here again." He nodded fervently and I turned my gaze onto his friend, the bluenette and looked him over. Spiky-ish aqua hair, beautiful blue eyes which were narrowed with caution, funny-looking vest, white flax shirt, jeans and sneakers. I blinked and looked back to his eyes. He was looking at me carefully, not sure if he could trust me. There was just _something _about him. Now what was it? I tilted my head slightly to one side curiously. He seemed kind of familiar. I looked him up and down once again before he met my eyes. "You look like a Jesse." I stated and his mouth dropped open and his eyes grew wide with surprise.

"How'd you know?" He exclaimed in a surprised southern accent. My eyes widened. Whoa. Flashbacks. My breath caught in my chest and I gulped as I sat back on the table, my legs not having the strength to support me any more. _Holy crap._ I looked at the floor of the tent as I felt myself tremble, feeling tears start to prick at the corner of my eyes. _He has the __exact__ same voice._ The face of my dearest old friend flashed in front of my eyes. Soft, light-brown hair, soft blue eyes and a wonderful smile and laugh. His house burning in the night flashed before my eyes and I tried my hardest not to choke. _Holy crap._ I thought, suddenly aware that I was holding myself. _Holy crap! He sounds like Jon!_

"Miss?" I could feel his hand hovering worriedly over my shoulder. I took in a deep breath and shook my head.

"I'm sorry. Give me a minute." I put my head between my knees and focused on my breathing as I felt him respectfully back away. I heard Jim arrive and there was a moment's hesitation before the tent flap rustled and he looked inside. A second of silence.

"_Jim."_ So Jesse knew him.

"_Jesse. What happened?"_

"_I dunno. I just asked her how she knew my name and she seemed to break down."_

"_She knew your name?_

"_Yeah. I dunno how."_

"_Why were you in her tent in the first place?" _There was a heartbeat of silence after Jim's whispered question.

"_Jaden followed his nose." _Another silence, and I could almost feel the two looking at the boy I could now call Jaden disapprovingly.

"_I was hungry!"_

"_**Not a reason."**_I smiled wryly into my lap, starting to relax. They spoke in unison. There was a moment of silence, and I could feel the old forgotten memories coming back to haunt me again.

"_How do you know her Jim? What's her name?"_

"_She didn't tell you?_

"_No. She just attacked Jaden when she saw he had her food."_

"_Hey!"_

"_Didn't hurt him though."_

"_I don't think she would. She was quite careful around Shirley."_

"_She met Shirley?" _He must've nodded because he didn't answer.

"_It wasn't the first time she met a croc."_

"_Wow."_

"_Yeah." _A heartbeat of silence. _"She told me to call her Wild."_ Jesse must've given him a curious look, and I heard the rustle of clothes as Jim shrugged. _'Not my story to tell.' _I sighed and straightened up, passing a hand over my face before looking and seeing the three boys look at me. I looked at each of them in turn before looking Jesse in the eyes. I blinked.

"You can call me Jean."


	4. Her Story

**Disclaimer:** Don't own anything I didn't create. I do own everything I did.

**A/N:** New chappie! ^_^ Hope you enjoy! Some serious stuff going on in this chapter, and you find out more about Helen Jean Harper.

* * *

"So I gather there's another reason you live in the woods by yourself, Jean." I looked up at the Australian and his calm blue eye that had a look in it that you couldn't get away from without telling him what he wanted to know. "A more important one." He said softly, and I glanced at Jesse before I dropped my head into my head, sighing. I nodded.

"I haven't told anyone about him for 11 years." I could hear Jesse's slight gasp and Jaden's mouth falling open. "I hadn't thought-" my voice caught in my throat as his face flashed back to my mind. I sighed and unblocked it. "-that I'd hear his voice again after all this time." There was a slight moment of silence before Jesse spoke up.

"His voice? You mean I sound just like him?" I nodded, still holding my head in my hand, hiding my tears, though my voice was still stable.

"Like you stole it." I said blandly. "He died when we were 8. I've never gotten over the guilt since."

"Why would you feel guilty?" I remained silent. I was beginning to realize that Jim had a tendency to cut straight to the heart of things. The flames played out before my eyes, and I couldn't trust myself to speak. I didn't realize that Jim had crossed the tent until I felt his hand on my wrist. Very gentle. "Jean." I could feel that he wanted me to look up, so with a moment's hesitation, I did. His face softened when he saw my eyes, and he wiped the tears away. I blinked. No one had done that before. No one had ever taken the chance to be that kind. Of course I had never shown anyone this side of myself before either. "It's natural to grieve." I looked at him, silent but doubtful. He nodded slightly. "Even after all this time." I sighed and looked down. I couldn't look at him.

"I forgot he was there." I said quietly, and I could almost hear Jim frown.

"Sorry? Didn't catch that." I swallowed and took a breath.

"I forgot that he was right next to me when I ran out of the house. I left him in the fire." _I hate myself._ I added mentally. "I was too scared to go back." Jim sighed and put his hand on my head, pushing back slightly.

"That is also natural." He murmured. I heard an awkward shifting and I looked up to see Jesse had a furrowed brow. I gave him my attention and he noticed, looking away awkwardly before meeting my gaze again.

"Couldn't he have gotten out by himself?" I shook my head sadly.

"He had a muscle disease. His legs were weak. There was no way he could have gotten out of there on his own." _Which makes it even worse._ I closed my eyes and looked at the ground. I could hardly believe that it happened 11 years ago, the pain was still so fresh. I sighed. _Enough of that._ I thought. _Keep your eyes up, your ears open, your nose keen and your spirit strong. Move on._ I blinked and rolled my shoulders back, looking around at everyone. "So. Where are you all from?" Jesse blinked in surprise, Jim watched me and Jaden grinned goofily, pointing his thumb over his shoulder.

"We come from Duel Academy." He said with a weird kind of laugh, rubbing his finger under his nose. "At least I do." I looked at him curiously.

"Duel Academy?" I asked. That certainly got everyone's attention. They were all gaping at me in surprise. Well, Jim wasn't exactly gaping. He was just doing his thing.

"You don't know?" Jaden asked incredulously. I looked at him and shook my head in the negative. He mouthed like a goldfish out of water. _If I had a fish for every time I've seen that expression, I could set up a sushi bar._ I thought wryly.

"This is Duel Academy Island." Jesse said and I looked at him before I blinked, my thumbs now hooked into my trousers.

"Must be important then. What do you do in these duels then?" Even Jim was gaping at me like the others now. I swore I could hear a cicada chirp outside the tent. To give him credit, Jim was the first one to recover.

"What do you think we do?"

"Fight." He waited. "What kind of fighting? Do you kill each other or something?"

"You've gotta be kidding me." I looked at Jaden.

"You've never heard of Duel Monsters?" I looked at Jesse. He looked so incredulously serious. _Duel… __**monsters**__?_ Seeing him looking so serious about something as ridiculous sounding as duel monsters and trying not to laugh resulted in making me bite my lip and turn a tomato red like a balloon about to burst because I was straining so hard.

"_Duel_… Monsters?" I breathed, trying very hard not to break out laughing. Jesse blinked, astonished.

"You've never even held a deck before?" I shook my head and he took something out his back pocket and held it out to me. I stepped forward, holding my hand out, and he turned his hand over mine. Something seemed to whisper a sigh. There was a deck of cards in my hand with a brown back with a black oval in middle and a golden-colored rim. I was already fascinated. I turned the first one over. Sapphire Pegasus. I froze, stunned. _My god. The detail on this is amazing!_ Almost impulsively I turned the next one over. Ruby Carbuncle. I couldn't help but smile. I could imagine the sort of sound she'd make. I turned the next one over and my mouth dropped open. Swing of Memories. To say my breath had been taken away would be an understatement. This card was exquisitely beautiful. It had the picture of a girl standing by a swing on the beach in the sunset. _Wow._ I breathed in my mind. _Now look at the others._ I tucked the card under Sapphire Pegasus.

The next few cards said they were spell and trap cards, and each one was very carefully explained in a box in the bottom, and each one had detailed pictures as well. Each one was beautifully made, and very-well taken care of. I wasn't even aware that I had dropped my eyelids to half-shut, how quiet and still I had become, and that Jesse was smiling at me with a secret little smile. It almost felt as if this deck was whispering its story to me. About halfway through the deck I had stopped flipping and I just stood there, holding it gently between both of my hands. The edges of my vision darkened like I was in a movie theater and I subconsciously sunk to my knees, resting.

This deck was a crystal deck, I knew without asking. The crystal beasts were warm and loving. A family. There was nothing but good memories in this deck, and it told me it's story of countless duels and the fun times they had together with their friend Jesse. _Jesse._ I blinked, trying to tear my gaze away.

"This is a beautiful deck." I murmured. I could almost feel him grin happily.

"Why thank you!" _Pri-pri!_ Now that certainly got me to look away from Jesse's deck, blinking. I most certainly did not imagine hearing that. Getting used to the light again, I looked around and saw a purple, four-eared cat on Jesse's shoulder. Translucent. I blinked in surprise and looked back through the cards I had flipped over already. _There she is._ I held Ruby Carbuncle's card in my hand. A purple cat with four ears. I smiled a little and looked up at the Ruby perching on Jesse's shoulder. _Pri-pri!_ She smiled at me and I smiled back. I turned her card face-up on top of his deck before handing it back to him.

"She's sure pretty too." I said looking at his little friend. Jesse looked at me in delight after looking at the card I had left face-up.

"You can see Ruby?" I nodded and was about to speak.

"Can you see winged Kuriboh?" I looked over at an eager Jaden with a raised eyebrow. A little brown fuzz ball with big eyes and green hands and feet and wings spun in a circle over his right shoulder, chirping excitedly. I looked at Jaden.

"You mean the fuzz ball?" I deadpanned and Jaden blinked in surprise while Jim grinned and Jesse laughed. The little Kuriboh looked a little affronted. I couldn't help but smile at him. "Yeah, I can see him." It chirped happily, fluffing up a little. I looked back at Jesse. "So where do you guys live?" He smiled and pointed over his shoulder.

"Duel Academy. There're rooms for the students and everything there."

"Ah. So it's a boarding school?" Jesse nodded, smiling.

"You could probably see it from here. We're not that far away." I nodded, standing up and turning toward Jesse.

"So it's over there?" I asked, looking over his shoulder. He nodded. "Let's see if we can see it." I suggested and moved outside, the others following me. Once outside I looked in the direction Jesse had indicated and saw some very large trees. Jesse appeared behind me and groaned in disappointment.

"Aw! It seems that those trees are in the way. If you could get to a higher point-" I nodded and impulsively reached up and swung myself into the tree next to me. Jesse looked at me in surprise and I smiled at him.

"To the north-east right?"

"Right." I looked at Jim and saw he was smiling. I shot him a quick smile before turning and swinging myself higher into the tree. Seemed like Jim was someone who'd also know the compass rose like the back of his hand. I got to the thinner branches in no time at all, and hugging the trunk, pushed myself higher until my head broke through the foliage. I looked the north-east and there it was. I nearly lost my grip it was so big.

"THAT'S THE BIGGEST SCHOOL I'VE EVER SEEN IN MY **LIFE**! HOW THE HELL DID IT MANAGE TO GET THAT BIG?" A resounding chorus of laughter sounded below me, and I gradually managed to close my mouth after a passing hummingbird eyed me curiously. I smirked down the trunk of the tree. Yeah, ok. I was surprised, I admit it, but it was kind of a given. The place was impressive, I admitted to myself, and I shimmied down the tree.


	5. Say 'Hello' to the Game!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything I didn't create. I do own everything I did.

**A/N:** I'm on a roll, aren't I? ^_^ Please review. Much appreciated.

* * *

"Sooooo…" I stared at the cards in my hand, admiring the pictures, and reading the descriptions. Jim smiled at me patiently, Jesse busy dueling Jaden to keep him distracted and from disturbing Jim and I. "I see that there are orange and yellow cards. They're the 'monsters' you told me about undoubtedly, but why are they different colors?" I glanced up at him over my cards. We were currently sitting cross-legged on the Slifer balcony for three reasons: Jaden didn't want us to go too far away so that he could find us easily once his match with Jesse was over (they were dueling in his room). Jim and I both preferred to be outside in natural surroundings, and the Slifer deck/balcony was the flattest and easiest area we could find that met that criteria. We would have dueled on the roof or on a flat-surfaced boulder, but there was no such boulder nearby, and the roof was simply too windy. We didn't want to lose our cards. Jim had just bought me mine. I was going to get a job here so that I could pay him back. I didn't let debts drag on too long. It'd make me feel too uncomfortable if I did.

"A yellow border means that they're normal monsters." Jim explained, and I quirked an eyebrow at him. "Basically, they're monster cards without effects. The ones with orange borders are ones that are." I made an expression of dawning understanding, and looked back at my cards, hand hovering over them.

"Ah, ok." I paused, looking at each card as my fingers passed over them. I had a Marshmallon in my hand who was an effect monster- I had to smile as my fingers passed over his card and he winked and made a _'Mallon! Mallon!'_ sound at me. I'd have to set him facedown on the field if I wanted to make use of his effect. I had two Sakuretsu Armor, one Honest (who I could just _feel_ smiling at me like a warm glow from the sun) and one Smashing Ground. "Hmm…" I brought a finger to my lips and thought, glancing at Jim's field, since he had gone first. He had set three spell or trap cards, and one set monster. _Should I be defensive and set Marshmallon, making defensive my offensive, or should I just attack? Honest seems to have a good ability, would be quite useful in battle, but do I want to risk him?_ I glanced at Jim's set cards in the spell and trap zone, fingers gently covering my mouth as I thought. _Hmmm… well, since Jim's got spell or trap cards on the field, I think I'll put mine down too._ I glanced back at my cards. Two Sakuretsu, one Breaking Ground. _Should I set them all, or save some? Hm…_ "I set three spell or trap cards." I announced, and Jim's eyebrow went up in surprise before watching my hand come up to cover my mouth again. He smiled, amused. _Now Marshmallon or Honest? I don't want to lose Honest on my first turn, but then again, I _can_ bring him back to my hand every second main phase._ I glanced back at Jim, to see if his face would tell me anything. He smiled at me, amused.

"It's not poker, you know." I blinked, staring at him. _What? Um…_

"Right." I rocked back a little on my seat on the hardwood deck then, bringing my knees up to rest my elbows on, and planting my bare feet on the deck, lounging. If a skirt-wearing girl had done that, not only would they have flashed Jim, but they'd have rolled over backwards as well, like a turtle rolling onto it's back. I hid my smirk behind my cards. I was just flexible and strong enough to be able to hold this position and be comfortable.

"If anything, that looks more defensive." I peered over my two cards at Jim, one eyebrow raised.

"Really? Nice observation, but it's not only useful for defense." Not it was his turn for his eyebrow to rise. I heard Jaden exclaim: '-and that's game! Now lets go watch Jean duel Jim!' –and his feet started pounding towards the door behind Jim, with the hinges on our side. I noted that, and as soon as the doorknob twisted, I predicted the speed and force with which the door would swing open with a rampaging Jaden behind it- and extended my left foot over Jim's right shoulder in a carefully practiced snap-kick making Jim blink and freeze. The door flew open with amazing velocity, and I kicked it shut before it could hit Jim in the back.

**Smack.** "OMPH!" I smirked a little at Jim, who wore an expression of surprise as he heard Jaden's grunt of surprised pain when the door met his face. I put my foot back down to where it had been.

"Now, would you call that offensive or defensive?" I asked him, playing the teacher of martial arts knowledge, to the one teaching me duel monsters. I smiled at him, eyes glowing cheekily in humor. Jim blinked the surprise away, and smirked at me.

"I'd call that using offense as a defense." I smirked back, and looked at the field.

"I play Honest, and switching to Battle Phase, I use him to attack your facedown monster."

"Nice move." Jim commented, and he leaned forward, the brim of his hat covering his eyes as he flipped his card over, revealing his card Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo – 1200 ATK. 1300 DEF. Jaden and Jesse silently slipped out the door and sat behind him. "If you had Special Summoned any monsters, I would have been able to use his effect to destroy them once he was flipped face-up, but you attacked him in face-down defense position, so he is destroyed without any damage to my Life Points." I nodded, paying close attention.

"Ok." _So defense position monsters, face-up or set is like the blocks you use to defend yourself fighting in martial arts. So he's not damaged at all._ "Hmm…" I put my finger to my chin, and looked up at Jim, Jaden and Jesse watching the duel intently. "So, what next?"

Jaden and Jesse went wide-eyed, and they fell onto their backs, arms and legs up in the air stiffly like dead animals. I smirked, ignoring them. Jim smiled, amused.

"You only have one monster, so you switch from Battle Phase to Main Phase 2. If you had any fusion monsters in your side deck, you could summon them now if you hadn't in your first Main Phase, but you wouldn't be able to attack with them. You can also set Spells and Traps in MP2 if you want." I nodded, and looked at my hand. I only had Marshmallon.

"Can I set a monster?"

"That counts as a normal summon, and you summoned Honest already, so no. Honest has the effect of being able to return to your hand in MP2 though." Jim looked at his cards, and I saw a hidden smirk in the glint of his eye. He looked at me, smirking slightly. "I'd advise it." I blinked. _Might as well make use of Honest's effect in any case, even if Jim is just bluffing. Maybe I should…_

"Can I switch him to defense?" Jim frowned.

"I wouldn't advise it, but you can if you want."

"Hm… might as well take use of his effect, since he has it." I said thoughtfully. "MP2, taking Honest off the field and ending my turn." Jim smiled at me.

"You don't have to narrate what you're doing you know. I may have only one eye, but I _can_ see what you're doing." I looked up at him in surprise, and he winked at me to show me he was teasing. I relaxed, but didn't smile. I'd never try and imply something like that. I looked at Honest and Marshmallon in my hand, and the little pink monster frowned at my expression and let out a soothing _'mallon'_ to try and comfort me. I smiled at him. I'd only say what was necessary now. Unseen, Jaden and Jesse had sat up behind Jim again and frowned at each other when they heard Marshmallon trying to cheer me up. I nodded.

"I end my turn."


	6. One Hell of a Girl

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything I didn't create. I do own everything I did.

**A/N:** Made it longer, and better. I hope you like it. ^_^

* * *

My Life Points hit zero. Not that I was surprised. Jim was a champion duelist. He had to duel his way to the top of his school to be able to come here, and I was a complete novice. Jim made a great coach though, and Jaden did me favors by sitting behind me and smacking me lightly on the back of my head when ever I did something stupid, whispering millions of little hints into my ear as he practically put his chin on my shoulder looking at my hand. He never did though, 'cause the first time he tried, I warned him that I'd put him in a headlock if he did put his chin on my shoulder. He believed me.

I stifled a yawn as I shook Jim's hand over the playing field and congratulated him before collecting my cards and stretching. We had started dueling after lunch, and the sun was now showing brilliant, tropical colors as it set over the ocean. I slipped my cards into the inner pocket of my old, army-green cargo vest and stretched my legs out, twisting to touch my toes with the opposite hand. I never did too well sitting still for too long. I tended to go either stir-crazy, or asleep. Kind of a natural instinct. I was used to living on my toes. Sleeping was part of survival, and if you slept out in the open, animals usually thought you were dead.

"UuuuwwaAAAHH!" I yawned, jaw stretching wide as I turned my face to the sky, stretching my back at the same time, eyes closing. "That was great! I never thought I'd have so much fun with something that'd require sitting still for so long." Jim smiled, shuffling his cards before putting them in his deck case on his belt while Jaden and Jesse looked non-plussed.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I never thought I'd be able to sit still before I discovered duel monsters." He used his thumb to push the brim of his cowboy hat back, and leaned back on his hands, watching the sky as it got darker. "I was so excited about Australia back then. Learning about what made it tick, and things like that. I was in love with the land." He glanced me, and looked back at the fading colors of the sky. I followed his gaze, mimicking him. "Still am, really. What about you?"

I could feel him looking at me. He probably saw the contented half-smile drop off my face at the question, and I leaned back on my elbows as the sky got darker.

"Jean?" I sighed at the prompt, and studied the skies.

"It was an escape for me. I loved the land just as much as you did, and followed the same sort of path, although you did it just for pure love, which is the best thing that could happen. I…" I trailed off, memories flashing past my eyes again. Jon's panicking, pained face as my legs ran on their own as I twisted my upper body back to look at him as he coughed on smoke, trapped in his wheelchair. "-did it to get away." I ended absently, and I sat up, elbows on my knees, head bowed. "That's all." I stood, and the boys looked up at me, alarmed, Jesse even reaching out to me, but hesitant to touch me. I paused at their reactions, and sighed, working to push down the memories. I raised my head and gave everyone a half-hearted smile. "I'm going back to my tent. Make sure no _raccoons_ have ransacked my supplies." I said, looking a Jaden pointedly, and he shifted uncomfortably. I gave him a half-smirk.

"I'll go with you." Jim said, standing, putting his duel disk back on his arm. I shook my head and looked off into the distance.

"That's ok. I'll be fine. I'll be back before you know I'm gone. Just going to get something to eat and come back, _if you're so worried about me._" I said the last part under my breath and Jim's eyebrow twitched up. Jaden stood up and gave me a typical, Jaden-style grin.

"You can eat here Jean, you're one of us." My disapproving frown turned into a confused one at the second part of his sentence and the foreign warm sensation in my chest. I blinked a few times.

"What?" Jesse got up and put a hand on my shoulder, looking me in the eyes and smiling gently, my hip touching the top of the railing. I stilled, looking into his kind blue eyes with so much light in them. _Just like Jon's._

"You're our friend, Hel." My eyes widened, a shot of electricity went through me, and I threw myself away from him instinctually. _Friend… Hel…_ My heart was beating faster than it had ever beaten for years, and I somersaulted backwards over the railing, breaking Jesse's grip on me and landing like a cat. The landing felt a little more fleshy and muscular, but I barely even registered it before I was running full-tilt into the woods. "Helen! I mean Jean!" I heard Jesse's voice call after me, panicking, making me run all the faster. "What did I do!"

His voice was lost in the breeze. I ducked under branches; I jumped fallen trees and brooks. I kept running until I had to come screeching to a halt at the edge of a cliff, breathing hard from the split-second adrenaline run. My eyes wandered over the ocean, the last vestiges of sunlight turning the horizon pink as the sun sank into the sea, moonlight taking the sun's place. Stars peeped out of the darkening blue, and my mind was lost in memory.

"Being confined to a wheelchair sucks. No one treats me like a normal person, just because I have a reason why I'm going to die." I frowned at the sandy-haired boy sitting in his wheelchair in front of me, casting my eyes down.

_"Yeah, I know how that feels." Jon looked at me quizzically._

_"How? You're normal." I gave a short, bitter laugh._

_"Yeah, normal. I'm just as normal as the next person." I said sarcastically. "There's a reason why I'm called a freak." I looked up and met Jon's eyes honestly. "You shouldn't be treated like that by anyone. You've got two eyes; a nose, mouth and a heart just like everyone else. I'll be your friend." Jon's face lit up in child-like excitement before he tried to push it down._

_"Really? Everyone ends up leaving me." He looked away from me. "Don't want their hearts broken when I finally die…" He murmured, and I leaned forward, long ponytail swinging forward over my shoulder to touch his chest as I reached forward to turn his face towards mine. His eyes were wide, and I smiled cutely at him._

_"I'll always be by your side." –and his face lit up with joy, throwing his arms around my neck in an overjoyed hug, pulling me off balance so that I fell onto his lap, and we rolled back a little._

_"Thank you Helen! Thank you, thank you Hel!"_

**_But I'm the reason you're dead._**

_The memory burnt away like a photograph in a fire, behind it the sight of his charred remains fused to the metal of his heat-warped wheelchair as the firefighters carried him grimly and carefully out of the remains of what had been his home._

"Jon! Jon!" Paramedics held me back as I tried to run towards the firefighters, frantic and half-crazy with fear, guilt and sorrow. "No! Jon! Please! You can't be dead! Jon, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Come back!"

He never did. I killed him, my only friend. I ran out and left him before I could tell my legs to stop running, using the one ability my only friend didn't have. Tears fell from my eyes, heart wounded from the memories. Helen… Hel… Friends… How could a killer make a good friend?

I curled up against the trunk of a tree, hands over my heart and knees curled up to my chest to try to hold it in. The grass swayed in a gentle salt breeze around me, and I huddled into myself, my own salt water joining the environment. It'd been years since I'd been so forced to remember him. Hopefully, I'd fall asleep here, and no one would find me until morning. Marshmallon appeared nearby, and looking up, I reached up and pulled him down closer to my heart, hiding my tearstained face. Mallon looked at me sadly, and I gave him a weak, watery smile.

"Night, Mallon."

'Maalloooon…' My eyes drifted shut, and my mouth opened slightly, sleep taking over at my little friend's soft croon.

A minute turned into five, and five minutes, into an hour. Jean stayed where she was, body relaxing as sleep took hold of her, a cool ocean breeze ruffling her short, brown hair in the warm night. Footsteps walked lightly, carefully and unknowingly closer to where she slept. A few lengths away, hidden in the shadows of the trees, they stopped. A pair of dark green eyes gleamed, framed by a dark face and black dreadlocks, evaluating the situation.

"Jean! Jean, where are you?" Jim's voice echoed through the woods.

"Jean!" That was Jesse. He sounded guilty, for some reason.

"Jean! Hurry up and find us! There's fried shrimp tonight!" Trust Jaden to say something like that.

"Jaden!"

"What? There is!"

"Jaa-den…" Jesse growled, sounding pissed at Jaden's response, which was rather strange. There was a sigh.

"That's not what's important, Jaden. Can you find her, Shirley?" His crocodile gave an answering grumble, and slithered off into the woods.

Jean shifted in her sleep, face relaxed yet slightly creased as if in pain, and her hands shifted, allowing Marshmallon to squirm out of her grasp and look around. He blinked, looking towards where the voices were coming from, and bounced once, eyes wide and acting urgent.

'Mallon! Mallon, Mallooon!'

'Kuri, kuri!' Winged Kuriboh tumbled out of the bushes that surrounded the tree Jean was sleeping on, and landed on her head, eyes swirls of dizziness. Ruby leaped out behind him, much more elegantly due to her feline nature. She looked where she was standing, and where Kuriboh was sitting, and with a gentle: 'Ru-bi' she leaned forward and nudged Kuriboh off Jean's head with her nose before leaping off after him. Mallon turned to look at them, upside-down eyes worried, and while Kuriboh was just lying there, looking nauseas, Ruby met Mallon's eyes in all seriousness.

'Rubi?' Ruby gave a concerned chirp, and Marshmallon looked sad.

'Maaallooooon! Mallon, mallon, mallon!' He cried, bouncing gently once on Jean's shoulder before moving to cuddle into her neck sadly, eyes watery. He looked at Ruby, who's eyes were concerned, and was paying him strict attention. Kuriboh used his wings to put him in the air a little, and turned to look at Jean's pink spirit, moving slightly side-to-side in the air, as if still slightly dizzy. He looked concerned as well. Mallon glance at him before turning his watery eyes back to Ruby. "Mallon… mallon?" It sounded like Mallon asked Ruby a question, and the little blue cat nodded once before leaping into the bushes back towards her brother-in-spirit and vanishing. Mallon looked at Winged Kuriboh, and the little fuzz ball met his eyes seriously before nodding and vanishing as well.

'Ruuuubi!' Ruby appeared on Jesse's shoulder, and the worried, blue-haired duelist whirled away from telling off Jaden and gave her his wide-eyed attention just as Winged Kuriboh appeared over Jaden's shoulder, looking sad. 'Rubi, rubi!' Jesse moved his palms up to hold the little feline in his hands, listening to her intently, his facial expression darkening in concern in worry as he heard what she was saying. 'Rubi?' The little cat finished, tilting her head and lifting a paw and Jesse blinked, bringing her closer to him, looking down. He swallowed.

"So there was a reason why she ran from me." Jaden looked up, frowning at the sound of his friend's voice. Jim put a reassuring hand on the shorter boy's shoulder.

"There is no reason to feel guilty mate." Jesse looked up at him, not believing him.

"I called her 'Hel'. Ruby told me that Jon called her that before he died, and since I already have his voice…" He trailed off, looking into the woods towards where Ruby said Jean was sleeping, Jaden already heading that way. "…I just brought a lot of bad memories-"

**"MALLON!"** Jaden and Jesse both jumped about a foot in the air at Marshmallon's ear-splitting, angry call and started sprinting towards the source of the sound, Jim clued in by Shirley's echoing roar a second later. Hearing a duel spirit make a noise like that was enough to raise anyone's hackles, let alone Shirley's roar. Spirits just didn't make that kind of sound.

They raced through the trees, and what they saw made them stop dead in wide-eyed disbelief. Jaden, Jesse and Jim all stood side-by-side, Jim's eye wide, and the other two gaping at the dark-skinned man moving rapidly and throwing punches and kicks and other incredible moves at the shorter, tan woman who was evading each blow like a ninja and giving as good as she got.

"Blimey…" Jim breathed in awe as he watched the two figures dance with a ferocious intent he'd never be able to copy. "-that's Axel, from the West Campus…"

"He's as good as I heard he was." Jesse tacked on in awe. Jaden smirked, and turned a gleaming eye to the others before looking back at the fight in front of him.

_"Well, it seems Jean is just as good, if not _


	7. Just A Pinch of Crazy

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything I didn't create. I DO own everything I did. ::smirk::

**A/N:** Yeah... this is a shorty. Hope you like it though. Once again, please review.

* * *

Adrenaline rushed through me, eyes wide instinctually, body already reacting as I tried to take in some more information on my current situation. I had woken up to the sensation of being lifted off the ground by strong arms- one supporting my back, and the other under my legs. That was interesting enough in itself, but if it hadn't been for Marshmallon shrieking in my ear like he had, I wouldn't have gone as stiff as a board and flipped out of the strange man's arms before my eyes even opened. Talk about being woken up rudely. My fighter's training, and instinct for survival had me moving, dodging and throwing blows before I even knew what was going on.

All I knew was that there was a dark, suspicious-looking man in front of me, Marshmallon had sounded terrified and angry, I was half-asleep and my training and instincts were telling me to react. So I did.

But this shady character was good. As if he had been trained to fight on the brink as well. Well, it was like he had been trained to fight, and where he trained was on the brink of survival, which was an unusual way to teach someone how to fight, not to mention dangerous. I had been taught how to fight in a very secluded, safe area by very good teachers who knew exactly what they were doing. My living in the wild for five years had just put that 'must survive at any and all costs' instinct in me.

I threw a powerful, instinct-driven, lengthy right upper cut into his stomach, only to have my arm grabbed with two rough hands that had a history in them and he pulled me forward and off balance as I instinctually stretched like a cat. He let go with one hand and I could feel him leaning back as well as he pulled me past him and reached his right leg out to kick mine out from under me. I jumped over his leg like it was a jump-rope, twisted my arm out of his one-handed grip, grabbed his shoulder, positioned myself behind him, and brought my left knee up to connect with the back of his head. He ducked.

I couldn't help but be impressed. This dark-skinned guy knew what he was doing.

He rolled onto his back, braced himself with his hands over his shoulders, grabbed the ground and kicked himself up with a spinning kick move I'd seen break dancers do in music videos. In short, he knocked my legs out from under me with one leg, and when I was falling, hit me in the ass with a blow from the other shin and sent me across the clearing through the air. That woke me up, and I couldn't help but grin my face off as an incredibly giddy, excited feeling filled my chest with an incredibly immature reaction.

_I'm FLYYYYIIIINNNGG!_

I landed on my feet giggling, and then grabbed my butt with a grimace as the sting from the blow set in. I rubbed it, and turned around, scowling at the guy, putting my arms up in the formal Taekwondo defense position.

"That hurt man! Yikes!" He blinked in surprise, eyes wide, white balls in his face as he looked at me like I was crazy. Then loud, raucous, full-lunged laughter blind-sided us both, and we automatically turned to face the bushes, guards up. I blinked.

Jaden was sitting on his ass, head tilted up towards the tree-tops, holding his side with one hand as he leaned back, beating the earth with a fist and filling the air with hysterical laughter, Jesse and Jim beside him and looking down at him incredously, Shirley by Jim's feet and ignoring Jaden completely.

"THAT HURT? YIKES? HAHAHAAA! OMG! THAT WAS JUST **PRICELESS!** HAHAHAAA!" I blinked, and dropped my arms, straightening up, looking at him like he was insane. I watched the stranger fading out of my peripheral vision, and I kept my body turned towards him. I stepped up towards Jaden, standing next to him and looking down at him. I nudged him with a foot.

"Oi. You got a screw loose or something?" Jaden barked out another laugh, and wrapped his arms around my leg, looking up at me with watering eyes and a giant grin. My eyes widened, and I automatically panicked, trying to shake him off. I didn't even hear what he was trying to say.

That expression.

That face looking up at me with tears in his eyes.

The messages were all mixed up, but frantic, impulsive fear registered those two things, and I fought to get away, eyes going blind in that single-minded panic. He held on tighter, grabbing my other leg while he was at it. My breath hitched. I had to get away.

Suddenly, there was a hand on the back of my neck, holding tight. Like the experienced hands of an animal caretaker, knowing exactly the right amount of pressure to use, fingers digging into the sides of my neck. I stayed still, frozen like a ragdoll kitten picked up by the scruff of the neck by it's mother. My vision was fading out into white, and I couldn't breathe right, somehow knowing that it was the way the somehow familiar hand was holding me, standing closely behind me with a gentle arm wrapped around my waist and supporting me.

"Sleep girl," Came the soothing sound of an Australian accent, and I blinked, feeling myself growing weaker and succumbing to the careful, caring grip of that hand. My eyes slid shut, and I went slack, hearing just a few more words before I went limp in his arms. "-you're going to be just fine." I relaxed into it.

_Jim._ I believed him.


	8. Dark History

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything I didn't create. I DO own everything I did.

**A/N:** Muwahaha! The race is on! XD (May need some editing because of it ). Review!

* * *

Adrenaline rushed through me, eyes wide instinctually, body already reacting as I tried to take in some more information on my current situation. I had woken up to the sensation of being lifted off the ground by strong arms- one supporting my back, and the other under my legs. That was interesting enough in itself, but if it hadn't been for Marshmallon shrieking in my ear like he had, I wouldn't have gone as stiff as a board and flipped out of the strange man's arms before my eyes even opened. Talk about being woken up rudely. My fighter's training, and instinct for survival had me moving, dodging and throwing blows before I even knew what was going on.

All I knew was that there was a dark, suspicious-looking man in front of me, Marshmallon had sounded terrified and angry, I was half-asleep and my training and instincts were telling me to react. So I did.

But this shady character was good. As if he had been trained to fight on the brink as well. Well, it was like he had been trained to fight, and where he trained was on the brink of survival, which was an unusual way to teach someone how to fight, not to mention dangerous. I had been taught how to fight in a very secluded, safe area by very good teachers who knew exactly what they were doing. My living in the wild for five years had just put that 'must survive at any and all costs' instinct in me.

I threw a powerful, instinct-driven, lengthy right upper cut into his stomach, only to have my arm grabbed with two rough hands that had a history in them and he pulled me forward and off balance as I instinctually stretched like a cat. He let go with one hand and I could feel him leaning back as well as he pulled me past him and reached his right leg out to kick mine out from under me. I jumped over his leg like it was a jump-rope, twisted my arm out of his one-handed grip, grabbed his shoulder, positioned myself behind him, and brought my left knee up to connect with the back of his head. He ducked.

I couldn't help but be impressed. This dark-skinned guy knew what he was doing.

He rolled onto his back, braced himself with his hands over his shoulders, grabbed the ground and kicked himself up with a spinning kick move I'd seen break dancers do in music videos. In short, he knocked my legs out from under me with one leg, and when I was falling, hit me in the ass with a blow from the other shin and sent me across the clearing through the air. That woke me up, and I couldn't help but grin my face off as an incredibly giddy, excited feeling filled my chest with an incredibly immature reaction.

_I'm FLYYYYIIIINNNGG!_

I landed on my feet giggling, and then grabbed my butt with a grimace as the sting from the blow set in. I rubbed it, and turned around, scowling at the guy, putting my arms up in the formal Taekwondo defense position.

"That hurt man! Yikes!" He blinked in surprise, eyes wide, white balls in his face as he looked at me like I was crazy. Then loud, raucous, full-lunged laughter blind-sided us both, and we automatically turned to face the bushes, guards up. I blinked.

Jaden was sitting on his ass, head tilted up towards the tree-tops, holding his side with one hand as he leaned back, beating the earth with a fist and filling the air with hysterical laughter, Jesse and Jim beside him and looking down at him incredously, Shirley by Jim's feet and ignoring Jaden completely.

"THAT HURT? YIKES? HAHAHAAA! OMG! THAT WAS JUST **PRICELESS!** HAHAHAAA!" I blinked, and dropped my arms, straightening up, looking at him like he was insane. I watched the stranger fading out of my peripheral vision, and I kept my body turned towards him. I stepped up towards Jaden, standing next to him and looking down at him. I nudged him with a foot.

"Oi. You got a screw loose or something?" Jaden barked out another laugh, and wrapped his arms around my leg, looking up at me with watering eyes and a giant grin. My eyes widened, and I automatically panicked, trying to shake him off. I didn't even hear what he was trying to say.

That expression.

That face looking up at me with tears in his eyes.

The messages were all mixed up, but frantic, impulsive fear registered those two things, and I fought to get away, eyes going blind in that single-minded panic. He held on tighter, grabbing my other leg while he was at it. My breath hitched. I had to get away.

Suddenly, there was a hand on the back of my neck, holding tight. Like the experienced hands of an animal caretaker, knowing exactly the right amount of pressure to use, fingers digging into the sides of my neck. I stayed still, frozen like a ragdoll kitten picked up by the scruff of the neck by it's mother. My vision was fading out into white, and I couldn't breathe right, somehow knowing that it was the way the familiar hand was holding me, standing closely behind me with a gentle arm wrapped around my waist and supporting me.

"Sleep girl," Came the soothing sound of an Australian accent, and I blinked, feeling myself growing weaker and succumbing to the careful, caring grip of that hand. My eyes slid shut, and I went slack, hearing just a few more words before I went limp in his arms. "-you're going to be just fine." I relaxed into it.

_Jim._ I believed him.

* * *

She was panicking. She had seemed calm enough when she nudged Jaden with her foot, but once he grabbed on, she lost it. It made Jesse gasp, and Jaden cling on for dear life, which only made her struggle harder. Just like a wild animal. I blinked. I'd been startled when I saw her react like that, but now I knew what to do. Shirley looked up at me and moved away when I went to stand behind Jean, and waited for an opening. Jesse looked at me with wide, slightly scared eyes.

"What're you doing? What's wrong with Jean?" The first question was to seek an answer, and the second was a reflex. I glanced at him, mouth a thin line and eyes grim. He blinked and gulped when he saw my expression, bracing himself for anything.

"She's panicking, and I've only ever seen someone lose it this badly once before, and that was Hassleberry at the dinosaur dig that wiped out his memory and his leg." Jesse gaped at me in surprise, Jaden looking up at me in surprise as well, as he caught Jean's other leg to keep her from kicking him, only making her struggle harder and reach down to try and push him off. That was my cue.

My hand shot forward like a snake, and I grabbed her by the back of her neck in an imitation of a viper bite, knowing that with someone as lost in her own mind or instincts as she was, it had the most likelihood of working. I dug my fingers in and bending my thumb over, snuck it into the muscle just on the other side of her neck from my hand so that she couldn't struggle free. She froze, like an animal when it knows it'd been caught by it's predator. She went as stiff as a board, back ramrod straight, slightly arcing over backwards, face tilted skyward, eyes blind and arms extended outward, as if searching for something she'd never find. She was so still, and I frowned, looking at her sadly. This'd knock her out, and I stepped closer to her so that her back was touching my side, and I gently wrapped an arm around her waist to catch her when she went limp. I could already feel her weakening, as Jaden let go and pushed himself away to half-kneel by Jesse, watching us in concern and wonder.

"Sleep girl," I said softly, trying to apologize with just the tone of my voice. She blinked, blank eyes no longer quivering. "-you're going to be just fine." Her eyes drifted shut, her arms dropped, and I could've sworn I saw the slightest of smiles on her face before she went limp against my side and I had to let go of her neck to catch her around the shoulders before she slid down my leg to the ground. Jesse's eyes widened, and he came forward a step as I lowered Jean to the ground, glancing up at him. As I sat on my knees by Jean's side, Jesse came to her other side and did the same, looking at her sadly, and gently holding her hand as if trying to comfort himself. Jaden frowned a little at that, and looked around. I watched at the blue-haired duelist, not taking my one good eye off of him, but he just sat there, gently rubbing her hand. Jesse glanced up at me, and I lightened up my stare.

"What was wrong with her?" His voice was soft, worried. I let a moment pass, thinking, wondering how he'd react. I had a good guess, but I didn't know for sure if I was right. I sighed, looking down at her peaceful face, shaggy, short brown hair thrown all over the place.

"She's messed up, Jesse." He looked up at me sharply, Jaden following the same action, but I didn't react. "She lost a friend five years ago, I don't know how close they were exactly, but I'd hazard a guess that they were as close as Jaden and yourself." They frowned at each other and looked back at me, Shirley coming up to lie behind me, sticking her snout around to nudge Jean's shoulder gently. I looked up at them. "Can you imagine how you'd feel if one of you died?" The idea hit them like a two-by-four upside the head, faces stunned, and they looked at each other, turning their faces away as they looked more and more stricken. I could tell they didn't like the thought. I looked back down at Jean, and brushed some hair out of her eyes. "You're the type of people who'd feel that way about pretty much anyone, but you two feel that way most strongly about each other." They looked up at me, interested. "I can't say this for certain, because she hasn't told me anything about her past, other than what we already know, but I've been watching how she acts." The two frowned at me, as if wondering how just watching Jean could tell me anything about her. "Whenever we ask her about her past, or say something about being friends with her, she goes stiff or runs away." The boys nodded, sitting cross-legged next to each other like classmates. "That indicates fear, which in turn, can show reluctance." I paused, jaw working as I looked down at her, wondering if I was saying too much. I blinked. "I can't say this for sure, but I imagine she had only the one friend," Jesse and Jaden went stiff, eyes wide, yet grim. I wouldn't be surprised if it made sense to them. It did to me. "If she had only the one friend, and she was as close to him as you two are to each other, and then lost him because her instincts took over and made her abandon him in a situation he couldn't get out of on his own… if she felt guilty, and tried to run away from her feelings… if she never let herself heal… I don't know anyone who wouldn't be messed up if they had been through that."

"That's so sad!" I looked up, surprised at the vehement reaction to see Jaden bawling like a baby, and Jesse covering his face with his hands, trying to both stem and hide the flow of his tears. The sniffling was a dead giveaway though. I straightened up, bewildered. Had it _really_ hit them that hard? I mean, it was depressing to think about, but to have this strong of a reaction to it?

"Uh…"

"I mean! To be- all alone! To feel like that- for five years! That's so sad!"

"Uh-huh." Jesse nodded, agreeing. I frowned, looking at the two of them. They were both so… innocent. Or maybe just naive.

"I'm afraid that's life." Jaden choked on his tears at the blunt response I gave them. I sighed, and bent down to pick up Jean, sliding one arm under her legs, and the other behind her back. I lifted her up to my lap. "Some of us have it worse than others," Jesse looked up at me, his eyes watery, but the worst of his tears over. I glanced at Jean's face sadly, and stood up, the others following suit. "-she just happens to be one of them." I turned to walk into the woods, and looked back over my shoulder when I heard a lack of movement. "Come. We'll take her back to her tent." They nodded solemnly, and we walked on. Hopefully, one day, her heart would be mended.


	9. Axel the Soldier

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything I didn't create. I DO own everything I did.

**A/N:** I was bored, and I wanted to read something. So I wrote.

Please review. It gives me inspiration.

* * *

The girl didn't have a bio-band on her. To not have a bio-band, she mustn't have been at the Opening Ceremony for the new year at Duel Academy, which was suspicious. My eyes narrowed as I watched the girl drop her stance in my peripheral vision and slowly walk over to a hysterical Jaden who was laughing his head off at what she had said. I sank into the shadows and walked away, thinking about what had just happened. Professor Viper would need to know about this. I glanced at the bio-band on my wrist as I pulled out the PDA I'd been given and found my teacher's name, clicking it and putting the device to my ear as it rang. I had him on speed dial.

"**I trust that you have a good reason for calling me at this hour, Axel."**

"Yes sir! I encountered a friend of Jaden's sleeping against a tree, and when I picked her up to use her as bait against him, she woke up and flipped out of my arms and gave me a run for my money in un-armed combat." There was silence from the other end of the phone. I waited.

"**Was this woman a duelist?"**Viper's voice was cool, calm and calculated. He wasn't a general for nothing.

"Yes sir…" I said hesitantly. "Although I saw no bio-band on her."

"_**What?"**_ I closed my eyes and held back a sigh at his terse, quiet yell. How did I know he was going to react like that? He didn't speak for a moment. **"That is very suspicious."**

"I thought so, Sir."

"**What was that?"**

"Nothing, Sir." There was a moment of silence, and Viper let it pass. I was almost past the Slifer dorms before he spoke again.

"**Have you seen this female duelist before?"**

"No Sir." Another pause. I could practically hear him thinking the same things I had.

"**I want you to search the school, find out where she's been hiding."**

"Yes sir."

"**I want you to gather as much intelligence about this duelist as you can. She must be very sly to have evaded our eyes."**

"Yes sir."

"**Destroy everything you find."** I froze mid-step at the uncharacteristic order, not sure what to say. Destroy everything? That was against the law! **"That is an **_**order**_**, Axel. Do I have to repeat myself?"**I gulped, eyes wide. The threat was clear. This would go against my morals, but what Viper orders, goes.

"N-no sir."

"**Good. Start in the woods. I suspect that she doesn't live with the rest of the school."**

"Yes sir." He hung up, and I followed suit, slipping the PDA into my pocket as I re-directed my footsteps towards the lake in the center of the woods. I had found a tent near it earlier on in the day that hadn't been there before when I had gone wandering in the early afternoon. It was empty then, and I had stuck my head in out of mild curiosity, then backed away and left it alone when I saw signs of it being inhabited. There were telltale signs of a woman living there, which had given me something to think about. The correlation between the new tent and the strange new woman was too strong to deny.

I just couldn't quite fathom how the inside of that tent had looked like it had been there forever when I knew for a fact that it hadn't been there yesterday.

* * *

Jaden and I walked quietly behind Jim, watching him carrying Jean, my eyes serious as I thought over what Jim had said earlier. I could just barely see Jean's shaggy brunette head of hair over Jim's shoulder. The woods were silent, and the crickets chirped as moonlight filtered it's way down through the trees.

'_I can't say this for sure, but I imagine she had only the one friend.'_ I sighed, Ruby appearing silently on my shoulder as I looked down at my feet, Jim's past observation ringing through my head. What he said made a lot of sense.

"She'll be ok Jesse." I looked up at Jaden, not even mildly surprised that he knew what I was thinking. We were so in sync, it was freaky at times. He met my eyes and gave a half-hearted smile before glancing at the knocked out girl. He didn't say anything for awhile, and I went back to watching Jim's back and that head of brown hair over his shoulder so that I didn't lose them, Shirley keeping pace by his side. "She's strong." I nodded, She must've been, to live for five years on her own in the woods. "More than I reckon we know." The thought brought a small smile to my face. If I knew anything about her at all by this point, I knew that she was stronger than we thought. I glanced at Jaden and smiled at him when he looked at me to show him my thanks.

"Crikey…" Jim's voice was tense, cold and didn't sound good. I looked up and saw that Jim had stopped at the edge of the miniature clearing that Jean's tent was in, and I reached out and grabbed Jaden's collar before he walked into Jim's back, frozen, wide-eyed.

It was wrecked. Things were strewn everywhere, books torn apart and the pages littering the ground, packets of food torn open by owls and lifted into the trees. The table was broken in half with one of it's legs snapped off, and the tent itself was in ribbons, the only thing appearing untouched was Jean's sleeping bag and pillow. Jaden gaped as Jim looked at everything, one visible eye filled with shock and anger.

"Who the bloody hell…?" Jim cut himself off, clamping his jaw shut, muscles visibly working as he glared at the scene before us.

"-did this?" I finished for him. He nodded curtly in acknowledgment. I blinked, and moved forward, Jaden staying by Jim's side as he watched me venture out grimly. I kneeled by Jean's sleeping bag and silently stuffed the pillow inside before starting to roll it up, starting with the first salvageable thing I could see, and tied it shut with one of the tent cords that had been cut off. I stood and looked around, eyes grim. I didn't know who had done this, and I didn't like it, but the least I could do was to try and help save some of the stuff.

"Jaden, sit." I looked around, confused and curious at Jim's curt order, and I saw Jaden glance at Jim in surprise, who was glaring straight ahead. Jim looked slightly his way, and Jaden gulped, nodded and complied, sitting where he was, legs splayed out in front of him. Jim's eyes softened at his compliance, and turning towards him, Jim squatted and kneeled, carefully lowering Jean into his arms, Jaden's arms rising up automatically to take once he saw what he was doing. Jim draped her legs across Jaden's, and rested her head on the brunette's shoulder before straightening up. Jaden wrapped his arms around her to keep her secure, and looked at Jim curiously. Jim met his eyes, and turned away, coming to my side and searching with me. I glanced at Jaden, and saw his confusion. I gave him a sad smile and turned back to the hunt.

I didn't like what had happened, but I had a feeling that Jim would hunt down who ever did it, and make him apologize. I smirked to myself, looking inside the tent. After all, it was kind of obvious that Jim liked her. I straightened up and scanned the trees, frowning. Who ever did this would pay.


	10. Attack Points & Biobands

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything I didn't create. I DO own everything I did. :3

**A/N:** Reviews are appreciated. Tell me if there's anything you think needs fixing please, be continuity or a grammar or spelling mistake I didn't spot. Honestly, critique makes me better. Thanks! ::kisses::

* * *

I drew a card from the monster deck on the table, wind ruffling my hair as I stood outside the Slifer dorm in full sunlight. My vest lay abandoned over the bench that came with the table, and I stood barefoot horse-stance on the sun-beaten earth, brown dirt streaked over my dark clothes.

Babycerasaurus. I wasn't sure if I wanted to scowl in disappointment or smile. The little guy only had 500 attack points, but boy, was he cute! All I could do with the little tyke's attack points would be to walk up and give the Dino-dude a shove. Of course, he was allowed to defend himself as much as he could with the defense points of the card I drew, but it'd be a rather disappointing exchange this turn. I frowned. A shove and a resist. I looked up at the tallow bandana-wearing dude. He lifted his eyebrows at me curiously, arms crossed and I gave him a little eye roll and a small smile, showing him his card. He grinned.

"You're lucky I drew your little cutie pie, Hassleberry. I could do so much worse." I said, handing off the card to Cyrus who ran up to me to take it for safekeeping. I smiled at the short, cotton-candy-blue haired kid, and mussed up his hair cheekily, corner of my mouth lifting in a lop-sided grin. He squeaked quietly and blushed up at me before turning around and running off. I watched him put the card face-up on top of the others we'd drawn with an affectionate, crooked grin. The kid was just too cute. I already called him 'little brother' and I'd only met him yesterday.

"Believe me, I know soldier." Hassleberry said exasperatedly, unfolding his arms and getting ready as I walked towards him, rolling his eyes. "You weigh at least a hundred pounds or something." I frowned. Only a hundred pounds? "With the way you used me like a landing pad last night, I don't doubt you could do worse soldier." I walked up to him and looked up at him smiling, arms crossed. He frowned down at me in confusion.

"Oh I can do a lot with just a hand and a leg." I smirked, and Hassleberry looked worried. Without even dropping the smirk, I used one smooth move to slip my left leg behind his knees and push him over it. He stumbled back, tripped, and his eyes widened as he opened his mouth as if to shout in alarm, but I caught him by the back of his neck before he could release it or even hit the ground. He looked up at me with wide, green eyes, back ramrod straight, suspended a foot off the ground like a catwalk over a stage. My eyes glinted impishly down at him with a smug little smile, and putting the leg I had used to trip him in front of his legs, I used that as a pivoting point to set him on his feet again. I re-crossed my arms and retreated a few steps smugly. He blinked at me, stunned, and then moved over to the table where the cards sat.

"That was interesting, wasn't it Jim?" Jesse said from where he was leaning against the balcony railing and watching the new spin on the game Hassleberry and I'd come up with. I sneaked a glance up there. Jesse was leaning against the railing with his ankles crossed and hands clasped, Jim was sitting on the top stair, leaning forward with his chin in his hand and hat tipped back, and Jaden was sitting on the balcony with his legs fed through the bars, eating potato chips and watching the match with interest. Jim nodded silently, and I looked back at the competition. Hassleberry frowned at the card he'd drawn. I frowned in curiosity.

"What did you draw?" He glanced up at me then back down at the card, frowning.

"Marshmallon." I smiled slightly. _My friend._

"Huh." I could se his dilemma now. Attack with a weaker monster with an awesome effect, or… wait a second. I reached up and put my chin in my hand, thinking.

"Looks like Jean's got an idea." I heard Jaden say out of one ear as I thought, and I smirked, idea fully formulated and I looked up. Then stopped everything, watching as a huge figure in a purple teacher's uniform with a pointy hairdo came around the trees, heading our way. I blinked and raised my hand, pointing. Hassleberry quirked his head to one side, frowning in confusion as I pointed past him.

"Who's that?" Dino-dude whirled around like he was getting ready for an unexpected charging army. Jim looked where I was pointing and stood up with a frown, Jesse un-crossing his legs and straightening up with a similar look in his eyes, and Jaden didn't react at all while Cyrus looked scared. Made me want to protect him, really.

"That's Viper, a teacher from West Academy." Jim said, walking down the stairs, Shirley lounging in the shade underneath them. I glanced up at him as he came to stand next to me, Jesse following suit and standing on my other side, Hassleberry- seeing the formation out of the corner of his eye- slowly drifting back to stand front and center. I blinked. Only my back was unprotected, but then again, the Slifer dorm was behind us, and Cyrus was standing by the stairs with Shirley sleeping under them while Jaden hadn't moved from his position on the balcony, although it looked like his chips had run out. I looked back ahead of me, and noticed the man was getting closer. Jim regarded him through a narrowed eye, while Jesse looked guarded. "He's the one who gave us these bio-bands and instigated the Survival Duels." I frowned and looked at the approaching man in a new light. He was carrying something small in his hand.

"I guess that means he's someone to look out for then." Jim nodded once, chin down and chin up before he stopped the motion. I could see Viper's angular face clearly now, and he was within hearing distance.

It had been a day since I had woken up in the Slifer dorm and learned that my home for five years had been destroyed. I had met Hassleberry, Cyrus, Blair and Chazz yesterday morning and had gone to sit on the roof for the first part of the day to try and curb the first three's enthusiasm over a new person, and the third's for a new girl in the dorm, no matter how much I told her I wasn't a student, she wouldn't hear of it. Made me wonder what my place in this world was, in all honesty.

"You are Helen Jean Harper, correct?" I stiffened up in alarm, the huge man standing in front of me and towering over me, making me bend my head backwards far enough to have to look straight up to see his scary smile. My jaw locked into place, and I glared at him warily. _How do you know my name, and **full** name at that?_ "I wasn't aware of there being a sixth exchange student." _Exchange student?_ I thought, bewildered, lowering my head to look at his chest and get the developing crick out of my neck. He was honestly standing WAY too close for comfort, and I thought it wise to keep my mouth shut. Jesse glanced at me worriedly, and looked back up at him.

"She came with me, sir." He said, and Viper frowned at him. I gave him my ear. "She's been a friend of the family for a long time, and I wanted to bring her with me. That's why I wasn't on the ship. We were coming via helicopter, and if you wouldn't mind, would you please take a step back sir. You're standing way too close for comfort." The man blinked and conceded, and I could've sworn I felt the air get clearer. I took a deep, slow breath in and relaxed somewhat, although I didn't let my guard down. I looked up at Viper again, this time not straining so hard to see his face. It was still very suspicious that he knew my entire name. No one outside of the people who knew me knew what my name was. I hadn't even gone for a job yet, and no one outside of Jim, Jesse and Jaden knew that my first name was Helen. His dark eyes met mine with a curiosity that had no depth. Fake. I met his gaze solidly, like steel meeting steel. I wouldn't back down easily, and neither would he.

"You heard him, Professor. I came with Jesse because he wanted me here, and the invitation was too kind to decline. His parents wanted me with him, and I would've been a fool to pass up the opportunity." Jesse crossed his arms in a smug manner, smiling at me in an openly fond way, playing his part. I smiled slightly and let a fond look pass over my face, relaxing some. "Besides, Jesse's like a brother to me," I grinned lopsidedly as Jesse reached out grinning and put his arm around my neck and pulled me into his side so that I had to hastily wrap an arm around his waist to keep my balance. "I couldn't let him have _all_ the fun to himself."

"So you duel, even if you're not a student here." The smile slid off my face, but I feigned curiosity, Jesse doing the same as I quirked my head to the side. The question sounded like a trap of some sorts, yet I couldn't hide the truth any longer.

"Yes Professor, but I'm pretty new to it, and as you can see, I don't have a duel disk." He smiled warmly, and my heart grew colder in dread and suspicion. I felt Jesse's arm twitch.

"Then consider this a gift from me." He offered in a kind voice, extending a large hand out, and I looked down to see the same white plastic bracelet in his palm that everyone else was wearing. I kept my face a mask, blinking. Viper reached down for my right wrist, Jim glancing down sharply as he felt my arm moving next to him as I didn't resist Viper's pulling it, eyes watching the man carefully. I didn't want to create a scene. Viper snapped the bio-band over my wrist good-naturedly, like a man giving his best friend's wife some jewelry, and he smiled warmly at me, encasing my hand in both of his. I managed to bring a small smile to my face, but my eyes remained suspicious. If he saw it, he ignored it, smiling kindly at me. "If you go to the card shop this afternoon and show Dorothy this bracelet, she will have a duel disk waiting behind the counter for you." He smiled and dropped my hand, and I let it swing back to my side in relief, with a new, foreign weight making my wrist all that heavier. "It was delightful to meet you Ms. Harper, I hope we can meet again someday." I gave him a fake smile and nodded.

"The feeling is reciprocated. Thank you. Have a nice day." Viper smiled at me and turned around and left, none of us moving a muscle until he had disappeared around the trees he had first appeared around. Then I sighed, putting my head in my hand, bio-band sliding down my arm. Jesse frowned at me worriedly and I smiled at him thankfully. "Thanks for that mate." Jesse nodded in acknowledgement, and Jim smiled down at me at the use of one of his words. I lowered my arm and looked at the bio-band in resignation. "I can tell that this is going to be trouble."


	11. OMAKE: Irreplaceable

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything I didn't create. I DO own everything I did.

**A/N:** Apparently 'omake' means 'freebie'. Interesting. X)

On another note, I got the idea for this chapter from a dream I had last night. Yes, I know, I'm turning into Jaden. Freaking incredible though, let me tell you. XD Well, enjoy. Please review if you're bored, at least.

* * *

I was staring him down, palms sweating, cards in my hand and I was shaking from exertion, panting. My pupils were dilated, and I was half crouched over, as if prepared for some monster to come charging at me head-on, eyes wide and frantically searching for the next blow. _'Stop shaking, damnit!' _I hissed at myself mentally, eyes narrowing by the slightest amount. _'Don't look weak! He'll see right through you! Cocky bastard.'_ The last thought was directed at my opponent, curly, tootsie roll brown hair hanging loosely into a deceptively nice face, his eyes a sharp toxic green. It was stuffy in here, where ever 'here' was, and I had a single Draining Shield face down in my Trap and Spell Card Zone, my monsters having been destroyed by his Naturia LeoDrake and some other psychic monster I'd never seen before, only a single card I couldn't remember the face of in my hand. He laughed, tilting his head skywards, and I half-winced, baring my teeth instinctively in self-defense. Something worse was coming.

"What a pitiful defense, Helen Jean Harper." His voice rose and fell condescendingly and he spoke, and my eyes widened in a mixture of fear and anger as he spoke my full name. _'How do __**you**__ know that! Kuso!'_ My flight instinct was triggered, but I couldn't run. It was like my feet were locked in place. I had something I was protecting with my life on the line. I couldn't run. Not if I wanted to protect those I cared about. Their faces floated into my mind. Jesse, Jim, Syrus, even Jaden and Hassleberry. The man in front of me lowered his head so that his bangs fell forward to cover his eyes as he chuckled, hands leisurely on his hips. "-and they even _said_ that you dueled best when you were asleep!" I ignored his words as the humor they were spoken with disgusted me.

"What do you have against us?" I shouted at him, very afraid but not allowing myself to feel it, hiding it behind a wall of bravado. The man stilled, laughter dying away, and a faint sense of relief hit me as the sound died away, though it didn't last long. A murderous aura suddenly rose around him, turning the air into a black miasma. I inhaled quickly in fear, eyes wide and leaned back onto my rear foot.

"Against you? In the plural?" He said dangerously, almost growling, and I suddenly realized I was shaking in fear. His eyes were still covered by his bangs, and I suddenly realized that I didn't want him to look up. I was afraid of what his eyes would look like. He slowly straightened up, hair lightening fractionally, head still lowered. I gulped, trembling. "Nothing. _You_, on the other hand- singularly-" he added, looking up, his hair lightening to a sandy blonde, face changing into a familiar shape. "_You…_" my chest felt tight, I couldn't breathe properly, eyes widening. Blue eyes were red, and glaring at me in a murderous rage. He raised his hand and pointed at me with a shout. "-_KILLED ME!"_ The two monsters on his side of the field fused into a silvery alien, and charged towards me, my last Trap card activating on it's own, my brain still short-circuiting, having not been given a chance to think through anything. "_DIE!"_ The blast pierced through my Draining Shield, and hit me dead center, pushing me off-center and off balance, sending me off my feet and flying backwards into the darkness as I crossed my arms in front of me, closed my eyes and opened my mouth. It was Jon. Jon was the one I had killed, and was the one killing me.

I screamed.

* * *

"Jean! **JEAN**! Wake up! Get a hold of yourself!" A hand had me by the shoulder in a vice-like grip and was shaking me violently, voice urgent and a little bit afraid. I gasped, a sensation of hurtling through the air at incredible speeds towards a certain destination, a flash of white light, and then my eyes were open, looking at Jim's face. His hat and vest were off, hair wild, shirt half-unbuttoned and one good eye extremely worried, half-straddling the branch I was on, and holding onto a neighboring branch with a tight grip, looking at me intently. I blinked at him, voiceless, wordlessly asking him what had happened. He gave me a relived smile, eye still worried, and visibly relaxed, settling onto the branch I was on. "You shouldn't sleep in trees, Jean. It was hard to find you." '_Yet you did.'_ My eyes never left his as he spoke, and when that thought ran through my brain, the walls around something very fragile in my chest fractured, and I felt a pressure building up in my eyes. Jim had relaxed his grip on my shoulder, but now he squeezed reassuringly, giving me a warmer smile. "I won't ask you why you were screaming Jean, but just know I'm here for you."

I looked up at him, eyes watering, pressure pushing its way through my eyes, lips trembling. Jim saw that, and giving me a gentle smile, carefully pulled on me until I was awkwardly leaning forward with my forehead against his shoulder. Then his hand left my shoulder, and carefully wrapped around my back. I blinked. '_Hug.'_

The dam broke and the walls fell silently, pressure pushing itself out of my eyes and streaming down my face, and before I knew what I was doing, I had grabbed Jim by the waist and yanked him closer to me, burying my face in his neck, sobbing. I hadn't even realized he'd stiffened in surprise, eye widening in shock. I was finally letting him in.

That was when he became such an important person to me. Irreplaceable.


End file.
